Has anyone ever saw an outlet like this?

[dirty dawg]

I found this on another board....I've never saw one like it before. I guess these must be another one of those outlets that can be wired for either 120 or 240 volts? Has anyone ever saw one of these? When were they used?

Oh, it's made out of porcelain too.

[ November 20, 2003, 12:16 PM: Message edited by: dirty dawg ]

 

[rpmlube]

Re: Has anyone ever saw an outlet like this?

That is not as old as you think. From the looks of it I would say that it is made by Hubbell. We have twist locks made like that in stock where I work.

 

[j_braddock]

Re: Has anyone ever saw an outlet like this?

you can find some of them in the older hardware stores. its been a while since i saw one though.

 

[dirty dawg]

Re: Has anyone ever saw an outlet like this?

Yes but those don't look to be twist-locks. If I'm not mistaken those look like they're a standard 2 wire hook up. It looks like you could plug a standard 110 volt plug into one side and maybe a 15 a/240 v plug in the other side if you were to cut off the ground prong.

The guy said he had several of them in his older home he was replacing.....

 

[al hildenbrand]

Re: Has anyone ever saw an outlet like this?

I've run into the receptacle on the photo above, on occasion, in the old homes of the inner city of Minneapolis, St. Paul. The blade configuration shown is one manufacturer's solution to market one device to several different electrical markets. The more flexible, the better the market share.

Consider. . .take the two parallel slots and turn them, in your mind's eye, 90? and lay them on top of the two in-line slots and you will have:

The history of this configuration goes to the early 20th century when AC and DC systems were vying against each other and the voltage that was supplied was not yet standardized. The in-line slots provided a receptacle for a cord plug with "tandem blades". The parallel blades introduced polarization which was important (among other uses) for certain DC loads that had to have + on the correct lead.

 

[dirty dawg]

Re: Has anyone ever saw an outlet like this?

What devices back then used "tandem plugs" ? And they were DC and not AC? How many volts DC?

 

[a.wayne3@verizon.net]

Re: Has anyone ever saw an outlet like this?

Al where di you find that receptacle face ??? It has been while since I have seen one of those...
Brownstones in N.Y.C. had alot of those.
Allen

 

[al hildenbrand]

Re: Has anyone ever saw an outlet like this?

Allen,

I grabbed this from Roger. I believe the photo is his, he has it posted over at ECN. Roger notes that this is a porcelain receptacle front.

Dawg,

Cord plugs with "tandem blades" were, simply, an alternative to today's parallel blades. As a convention, they didn't last. Either plug was used on either AC or DC and the voltage was whatever the generator put out up to 250 volts. Remember that DC systems were limited to power transmission distance of less than a mile. A lot of small DC generators went in from the 1870s on, for specific uses, mostly industrial motors and street lighting. Once Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse put together a practical AC system in the 1890s, physical distance no longer was a restriction and AC steadily moved to dominate the market. This is easily a half century process. Smart manufacturers survived by making products that were as universal as possible. NEMA standards simply didn't apply even remotely like they do now.

 

[dirty dawg]

Re: Has anyone ever saw an outlet like this?

So they actually had DC electricity in homes before AC?

About the outlets....they're not that old are they?

 

[Guest]

Re: Has anyone ever saw an outlet like this?

DC was Edison's choice. He said AC will never work-- it's far too dangerous.

 

[al hildenbrand]

Re: Has anyone ever saw an outlet like this?

Before the "practical" AC system started taking over the market in the early 1900s, most homes didn't have electricity. And, until the REA underwrote the cost of the transmission lines, most rural areas of the US were without power company AC into the 1930s and even later. I have acquaintances who have described the moment the power went on for that first time, weeks or months after the installation of the wiring, service and poco lines. It was a huge deal. The poco would announce the moment the switch would be thrown and the rural family would do something special for it. One family, of my acquaintance, gathered in the kitchen and waited for the electric light to go on. When that happened (this was 11 o'clock at night) they doused the other light, plugged in the new fangled electric toaster, broke out the canned bottle of the best preserve, and had toast with jelly. Imagine what a freedom it was to have toast, anytime, without starting a fire in the stove and overheating the room!

The photos, above in this thread, show receptacles that, IMO, would date from 1900 to 1920.

One more thing. From 1870 thru today, enterprising individuals living in areas without central generated electricity would occasionally cobble together electrical systems for their own use. Battery powered doorbells were common early on, and have made a strong comeback in their wireless versions. After that, the sky was the limit. The modern day equivalent is found in the dwellings of folks living off the grid in cabins, RVs and watercraft. Depending on the ingenuity and/or the depth of their pockets, local generation, either AC (commonly 120/240 V) or DC (many voltages), probably of the largest kVA that can be afforded, will be built.

 

[a.wayne3@verizon.net]

Re: Has anyone ever saw an outlet like this?

Actually in Edisons home there is still a dc light fixture that is supossed to have the original bulbs in it burning today ???If not mistaken its in Monroe,well the big companys would have a problem with 100 year light bulbs